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The compact camera used to take the photos shown above. (No criticism of Sony here; this particular camera was bought from a charity shop for $4.00.)

Some design features, shared by many compact cameras, that can lead to False Positives in paranormal investigations are:

• The proximity of the flash to the lens. The flash tends to light up very close dust particles which can then appear to be orbs.
• The convenient, small size of the camera makes it easy to obstruct the flash or lens, causing reflections or intrusions.
• The automatic exposure system doesn't particularly tell you what it's up to, as opposed to an SLR camera that can be used easily on manual exposure, so you control what's happening, not the camera.
• The lens is unshielded from stray light, which can enter the lens and cause flare etc.
• It's easy to get the lens dirty while using the camera, so something like a fingerprint or raindrop on the lens can cause an unusual blur or misty area.
• When using with flash, the lens will automatically open up to its widest aperture, maximising the potential for aberations, including the above.

Also see the short essay on ORBS.